“I’d like to thank Mitch for his dedication and commitment to Siena basketball the last eight years,” Siena athletic director John D’Argenio said in a news release. “This change isn’t being made for lack of effort. Basketball is important in the strategic direction of Siena. We have high expectations and aspirations for this program.”

D’Argenio is scheduled to meet with the media at 3:30 p.m.

Siena promoted Buonaguro from assistant in 2010, hoping to continue the run of three consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles the program enjoyed under Fran McCaffery.

Instead, the Saints had three losing seasons in a row under Buonaguro and fell to 8-24 this season, tying the 2004-05 team for the most losses in program history.

The Saints ended their season on Sunday with a loss to Niagara in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals in Springfield, Mass.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity Siena gave me,” Buonaguro said in the news release. “It’s a very special place, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my eight years here. The student athletes we have brought through the program are people the Siena community can be very proud of. We had some great success here, and although the last three years did not produce the results any of us hoped for on the court, I leave knowing I gave my all every day. This is a program I care deeply about, and I wish Siena nothing but the best in the future.”

Now Siena begins a search for a head coach to revive the program. The Saints are likely to seek a current head coach and potential candidates could include Loyola’s Jimmy Patsos, Northeastern’s Bill Coen, Jacksonville’s Cliff Warren, Bucknell’s Dave Paulsen, Robert Morris’ Andrew Toole and Vermont’s John Becker.

Should Siena head basketball coach, Mitch Buonaguro have been fired?

Yes, the team wasn't getting any better.

No, he should have been given another season -- at least -- to turn the team around.

111 Responses

Sadly, I think this is a direction the program had to take. I thank Mitch for the part he played in Siena history as an assistant coach as he did a great job working with Fran and giving the program some of the most memorable NCAA games ever. Just that not everyone is cut out to be a head coach. Best wishes to him and his family.

Where’s the Ghost of Gibbons hall who said Mitch was a lock to come back? Me thinks that was a UAlbany or MAAC fan… because if Siena gets a top notch coach it’s back to seeing Siena win big again which is their worst nightmare.

No surprise here; of course. Best of luck to Mitch who by every account I heard is a nice guy and is well liked. I think it is a good sign that this happened early on Tuesday; it suggests that some planning has taken place and maybe even that they have a list prepared. Let’s hope for a positive search process.

I have had difficulty finding any attendance numbers for the MAAC tourney. Almost seems like they’re being hidden. Am I wrong about that? Mark; was it a ghost town? I looked at the box score for the final on Yahoo Scoreboard and there was no attendance number?

Well said, this had to happen and Mitch will be just fine. He is part of the championship teams during the McCaffrey era and he earned his place on those trophies just like everyone else did. Unfortunately the head coaching role was above him and it’s time to shake hands with Mitch and move on. Time to turn the page and go full throttle after a coach that will stick around and also put this program to the elite. All of the coaches listed above are viable candidates. What I like about Patsos is that he loves Albany and would put some personality back into the program. I also think Dave Paulsen would be a terrific candidate, given what he has done at Bucknell.

Even though everybody thought it was a done deal by mid-December, I believe the first Fairfield game sealed Mitch’s fate. I believe they were tied with Manahttan and could have tied Fairfield by winning. Result was a terrible performance.
If they had the year Manhattan had even with a losing record Mitch would have stayed. Not so much the record but how the record was achieved and the future direction.

Right decision to let him go. Good guy, not the right fit. D’Argenio has to take a hit as well. this was not a good pick from the outset. the logic that Siena not pick an up and coming coach because they leave after a few years was flawed. That’s exactly who you need to recruit good players. Rick Pitino’s son available? Also Siena needs to evaluate if MAAC is right league going forward. The thought of now competing with the likes of Quinnipiac is not at all appealing. Still holding off on season tickets I canceled two years ago until the dust settles

Siena did the right thing. This year was painful and terrible to watch how poorly he coached the once-great Siena Saints. Feel bad for OD to have to end his college career with 3 years of incompetence. Now they have to make the right choice and get a coach with basketball coaching talent from a premier conference.

Siena has done a very good job when they hire from the outside (McCaffrey, Orr, Hewitt, Deane, Griffin). Not such a good job when they hire the asst (Beyer, Lanier -cant remember if he was assistant, Mitch.)

The program is recognized nationally as one that can win, so hopefully they can attract someone who can turn it around quickly. There are always good young coaches out there looking to take the next step. Finding the right one is not always easy, especially if you are looking in the pool of assistants with no head coaching experience.

From the list of people listed in TU article, not sure Pastos would be interested. he has a better program now, although doesnt have fan base, not sure about pay. Coen is in better league, has better team and makes much more $ than Siean pays. They should have hired him in previous searches.

Only time will tell if they make the right decision. Hopefully they do. Capital District is better when Siena basketball is successful.

Did anyone else notice that they still don’t mention Bob Beyer’s name after all these years? LOL Even after someone ties his “record” for worst record, he still doesn’t get mentioned. Mitch and Bob were the same in the respect that they were both great assistant coaches but were not cut out for the head job and that’s probably where the similarities end.

Agree with Scott about Pitino’s son. We all know they are familiar with the area because of Saratoga Race Track. Pitino starte at BU when they were in the same conference with Siena. He had some good athletes on that team I saw last night, and they pressed and ran when I was watching. Something Siena fans have craved since Fran left. Could probably get athletes from FL and ones that couldnt play for Lville but would be good at next level down. Price to pay would be he would be gone in 2-3 years if he won.

Never understood the hire in the first place. Was Siena just taking a breather? Career arc:

–gets shot while very young as asst. at Villanova
–head coaching job at Fairfield, fails (.411)
–asst. in pretty terrible Texas A&M program
–pal Massimino brings him to Cleveland State as asst. for 7 unsuccessful seasons
–get hired by McCaffrey at UNCG, subsequently brought to Siena as a 52 year old asst.

I agree with the comments about Mitch being a good assistant but poor head coach. The right coach could turn things around very quickly because there is a lot of talent on the team right now. With the right direction they could make a serious run next season. GO SAINTS

Its sad to see a man that Siena set up to fail treated so badly. I agree, his record was bad, but the Siena admin knew Fran did a terrible job recruiting (b/c he was looking to leave) and put Mitch in to fail so someone could be brought in after a longer search. Oh yes, the good ol’ day of Fran… treated players terribly, swearing, embarrassing the school… and the most classless wife I have ever seen… What a reflection he and his wife were of the schol…

The talk of Siena becoming the next Butler (or Gonzaga) seems like it was forever ago. Can someone explain how only 3 years ago we were a top 50 program and now we’re in the bottom 50? It all starts with the coach. I think it’s clear that the administration really needs to push for someone who has real top tier D-1 experience and can recruit. Either an assistant from one of the power conferences or a very successful young head coach like Toole or Paulsen from another mid-major.

If we want to make a move to the A-10 we have to show we are taking our head coaching job seriously. We have the fan base, the facility and the commitment from the school. Now we now need to show that we are committed to returning to where we were before Fran left. In order to get any coach to stick around long enough for continued success we need a serious coach with serious credentials.

Geat Man with the x and o but was totally incompetent in game situations. Some guys are great at practice and some are great at game time. Remember the game at Princeton and how that was managed in the last few seconds !! Handwriting was on the wall !!!